This invention relates to a device for the upright i.e. essentially vertical storage of elongated, stick-shaped objects such as walking sticks, canes, crutches, umbrellas, hiking staffs and the like, and to a walking-stick and crutch stand incorporating such a device.
Handicapped or elderly persons often face the problem of not knowing how and where to deposit their cane or crutches at a doctor""s office, at a restaurant etc. More often than not these walking aids are laid flat on the floor, constituting a hazard for other people.
This very problem has prompted the inventor of the innovation here presented, Mr. Hans Oetiker, to come up with a solution to this unacceptable situation.
When visiting his physician, Mr. Oetiker, himself handicapped due to a hip operation, witnessed an accident with tragic consequences in the doctor""s waiting room. In the absence of a better place, a patient in the waiting room laid his crutches flat on the floor, another patient tripped over these crutches and sustained serious injuries. As a result of that accident that person then had to undergo an operation which he did not survive. In view of that incident Mr. Oetiker then conducted a search for devices that would allow safe placement of walking aids and crutches. The racks and stands he found such as those made by Binder Rehab Home and Hospital Supplies of CH-5612 Villmergen/AG or by Hans Achermann Foundries and Metalworks of CH-5122 Menznau/LU turned out to be too heavy (about 6.5 to 11 lbs.), too bulky and too awkward to handle. No wonder, then, that these commercially available stands are hardly being used for instance for crutches at doctor""s offices, in restaurants, in public buildings etc.
It has therefore been an objective of this invention to introduce a device for holding such objects as walking aids and crutches, allowing easy manipulation while avoiding the drawbacks of the racks and stands currently on the market.
According to the invention this objective is achieved by means of a device as described in claim 1.
The proposed solution is a device for the upright, essentially vertical placement of elongated, stick-shaped objects such as the above-mentioned walking aids, crutches, umbrellas, hiking staffs and the like, characterized by the following features:
a baseplate
at least one tubular element that can be detachably connected to the baseplate, and
a retaining element that holds the minimum of one tubular element detachably on the baseplate.
In a preferred design version, at least two tubular elements are provided which, extending side-by-side in twin fashion, can each accommodate at least one stick-shaped object such as the aforementioned crutch.
The baseplate preferably features positioning aids such as pins, lugs, detents and/or the like serving to hold the tubular element or elements in a position preferably centered on the baseplate.
In a preferred design variation, at least one punched-in prominence, its diameter essentially matching the inner diameter of one of the tubes, projects from the baseplate and is preferably tapered so as to cause the prominence to guide the respective tube into its proper position on the baseplate.
In addition, the tubular element or juxtapositioned twin tubes is/are provided with at least one guide channel or guide tube through which a rod-shaped retaining element can be installed. The baseplate is provided with a socket in which the front end of the rod-shaped retaining element can be inserted, which front end can be locked in place in the said socket by way of a thread, a bayonet-type slide catch or a similar locking feature.
The rod-shaped retaining element may consist for instance of two parts including a first rod section with a threaded end and, at the far end from the threaded end, a stop collar which, bearing on the guide tube at the far end away from the baseplate, serves to clamp the tubular element or elements against the baseplate. If an additional rod section is used, it can be detachably screwed or plugged into the first section, with the additional rod section preferably featuring a lifting provision at its end.
The upper opening of the tubular element(s) is preferably chamfered relative to the longitudinal axis of the tube and is provided with at least one perforation in the wall of the tube(s) near the upper opening by means of which the tube(s) can be mounted for instance on a wall using a suitable fastener such as a screw, a hook or the like.
The characterizing features of other preferred design variations of the device according to this invention are specified in the subclaims.
As mentioned above, the device per this invention lends itself in particular to the accommodation or depositing of walking aids and crutches. However, the device according to the invention can serve equally well for holding umbrellas, hiking staffs and other oblong objects.